A thinking Tory? The BBC finds the idea absolutely hilarious

The Tory MP for East Surrey, Sam Gyimah, gave a good account of himself this morning in explaining why he had no intention of rebelling by voting in favour of today’s referendum motion. He said he hadn’t had his arm twisted by the whips; he just did not agree with the motion and he explained why in a measured and thoughtful way. Evan Davis appeared disappointed, saying Gyimah seemed “very tame” and wondering aloud whether they should have wheeled on a more belligerent performer. This was the cue for the other participant, Labour’s in-house court jester Stephen Pound, to chip in with the observation that here we had “a thinking Tory”. That was it. Gales of hilarity swept the studio, led by Giggly Davis himself who evidently thought the notion just too ridiculous for words. Such sneering condescension is not attractive. It is the flip side of the same coin that Dan Hannan has often written about – how the BBC caricature of Eurosceptics as a bunch of loonies has become a fixed part of political discourse in this country. It has now infected Ed Miliband who has described those who want a referendum as “barking”. That’s three-quarters of the electorate you are talking about, Ed. Are you sure that’s a good idea?